Lighting dilemna! HELP!

Ok, as some of you know, I have mentioned here and there on a lighting upgrade I am getting ready for and planning.

I have actually found a nice ARO 175w PnP Halide ballast for a real good price with an XM 20K bulb for just $20 extra! Hellolights.com sells this setup.

I have also decided to port over to PC's. Not sure what I should settle for, 2x55w or 2x96w? What do you guys think? Which should I go with?

Under 2x55w = 110w + 175w (halide) = 285tw
285w/30 = 9.5wpg

or
Under 2x96w = 192w + 175w (halide) = 367tw
367w/30 = 12.2wpg

What do you guys think? Will I be able to care for a Maxima?

Also, what bulbs should I go on the PC's...

1: 1 x Actinic 03, 1 x 10K Day
2: 2 x Actinic 03
3: 1 x Actinic 03, 1 x 10K Day running alongside 2 T5 Helio blues?

I have 6 spare T5 standards in blue and white, should I intermix? If so, any suggestions??

 

how tall is the tank. sounds like it would be fine for a clam. i dont think there is anything wrong with mixing pc and vho. i know a couple of people doing it. the vho works better for me as actinic. vho doesnt seem to have the penetration that the pc's do for 10k bulbs.

 

I dont think you will want to go with 12 watts per gallon. You will burn alot of corals. 9 watts would be plenty and you will still need to be careful. Place the lights at least 12 inches above tank.

 

Ohh all actinics with the PCs

 

That was actually one of my worries. How much would be sufficient and safe? I definetly am settling with the 175w 20K and might go dual actinics instead of 1 Actinic and 1 10K. Should I stick with 9.5wpg or should I settle for 2x28w PC's?

If I go 2x28w PC's alongside the 175w halide, that would give me a total of 7.7wpg. I want the best possible lighting to aid in growth and health. Any suggestions welcomed!

The tank is 19inches tall and the halide will sit approxamitely 3-4 inches from the water.

 

You need to be careful when you change bulbs or increase wattage as to not burn, bleach and kill your coral. Perform this over a period of time. As far as wattage is concerned 7- 9 watts per gallon is sufficient for most if not all corals. Maybe a few demanding Acros or Gonioporas may give you trouble, however they may not even be light related.
Metal halide bulbs at the same Degree kelvin by different manufacturers don't show the same color. Meaning I have a 10,000 k metal halide bulb that looks closer to 14,000k than 10,000k. Therefore I went with 50/50 pc's instead of actinic's. It all depends on what you like also. Do you want your tank to replicate the shallower waters or the deeper, cooler reefs?

 

IMO You should not necessarily just look at total watts You should look at types of light the mh it self is enough to grow most corals in a 30 gal but the color 20000k is Very blue That with atinics may be too blue for your liking you could add 10000k pc but pc do not penetrate like a mh and it may still be too blue A 14000k mh may be more natural looking paired with an actinic pc you could do a nice sun set

 

Thanks for all the info. guys!

Hellolights.com has a special when purchasing the ARO Pro series 175w MH ballast. They are offering a halide bulb for 20 bucks with the purchase, but I only have a choice of two XM MH bulbs.

These are the choices:

175W XM 21-17515 15000K
175W XM 21-17520 20000K

I just want to replicate the suns rays as they penetrate the water. I want it to look as natural as possible. If the halide is too bluish, I can do both 50/50 pc's.

What is better, shallower waters or deeper waters?

 

BUMP! C'mon guys!

 

The XM 20000K is very blue to the human eye. You will need little to no actinic bulbs to enhance the color of your corals. I have no idea what the 1500k bulb looks like.
I personally would go with a 10k light and then use your pc's or t-5's to give it the added color that you desire.

Jim


http://metricksystem.com/chris/250wcolour/
These are 250 watt bulbs but the color shift from these to the 175w should not be too great.